


A Better World

by GilgaNyan (NarryEm)



Category: Devilman (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Fluff, Fluff without Plot, M/M, Short & Sweet, literally fluff fest
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-12
Updated: 2018-02-12
Packaged: 2019-03-17 03:54:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,476
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13650888
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NarryEm/pseuds/GilgaNyan
Summary: Ryou decides to sweep Akira away for an impromptu date





	A Better World

**Author's Note:**

> Look, we all cried watching Netflix version of Devilman because the characters deserve better.  So here it is, our gays in a universe where demons and asshole gods don’t exist.

 

 

Akira wakes up with tears in his eyes and a stuffy nose.  He remembers dreaming about a tragic world, one sad and heart-breaking enough to make him bawl his eyes out in his sleep, but he cannot recall the details from it. The dream feels as distant as a different life in a radically different world.

He sneaks into the bathroom, not wanting Miki to see him with a tear-stained face.  Every one of his friends already think he is a crybaby so he doesn’t need to add to that.

Breakfast is a quiet affair as it is eight o’clock on a Saturday morning.  After munching on some toast and eggs, Akira changes into a tracksuit.  He won’t start jogging right away but he intends on doing a long warm-up walk around the neighbourhood.  Usually, he asks Miki if she wants to tag along but she wasn’t in her room when Akira went to check earlier.

Akira is almost by the port when he hears the soft purr of a car engine behind him.  He turns around and sees a familiar shape climb out of an expensive looking car.

“Akira!” Ryou exclaims.  “Long time no see.”

“Ryou-chan!” Akira blurts out without thinking.  “Yeah, that’s only ‘cause you flew off to the United States to study!”

Ryou bounds up to where Akira is standing and hugs him tightly.  He even lifts Akira off the ground to spin him halfway around for the hug.  Ryou looks like he might overheat in his white fur coat but knowing his childhood friend, he will probably shrug it off as fashion.  America is weird that way.

Akira almost flinches when Ryou’s fingers tighten around his biceps.  “Whoa.  Have you been working out?” Ryou teases.

“I guess.  I joined the track team and my school takes the whole thing seriously.  Both Miki are in it, too!”

Ryou smiles.  “Still close as ever, eh?  Come, let’s go for a drive.”

Akira eyes up the car.  “Where did you even get the money for that thing?  And how can you drive?”

“I have a license in America.  I kinda forgot to apply for an intenational license but I don’t think that’ll be much of an issue.  As for the car itself, I have a sponsor for my studies,” Ryou explains.

“Whoever your sponsor is must be rich as heck!” Akira exclaims, climbing into the passenger seat.  The seats are all leather covers and the interior design screams money.

“You could say that,” Ryou says, a mysterious smile playing on his lips.

The car’s engines purr as Ryou twists the key.  He turns on the radio, which starts to play an electronic dance-type music with a cheerful drum beat.

“What’s America like?” Akira asks as they cruise down the streets of their familiar neighbourhood.

“Bigger.  Louder, too.  It’s like the concept of quiet and mutual respect for personal space does not exist there.”  Ryou takes his eyes off the road for a second to glance at Akira and grin at him.  “I kinda missed that goofy face of yours.”

“Aww.  I missed you lots!  We can hang out now that you’re back!  Not much has changed but I bet we can find something fun to do together.”

“I’m sure you will.”

As they—well, Akira is the one leading their conversation for eighty percent of it—Ryou pulls the car into the highway.

“Uh,” Akira hesitates.  “Where exactly are we going, Ryou-chan?”

“I hope you don’t mind a day trip to Kyoto,” Ryou answers.

“Ah, Kyoto, that’s cool.”

Then the words sink in.

“Wait what? _Kyoto_?”

“It’ll be fun,” Ryou promises.

“Ryou-chan.  I can’t exactly go to Kyoto wearing a tracksuit!”

Ryou points to the backseat.  “I have jeans, t-shirt and a lightweight blazer for you to change into.  You are very welcome.”

Akira glares at his friend.  “You planned the whole thing, didn’t ya?”

Ryou shrugs.  “I didn’t think I’d run into you by the docks, to be fair.  My plan was to come to your house and sweep you away.”

“Is there a particular reason as to why we’re going there?”

“Not really.  I just felt like it.  You can use a day away from home, too.”

Akira hate to admit it, but Ryou is right.  He hasn’t been outside of his hometown often and the prospect of going sightseeing around Kyoto thrills him.

“I guess I should say ‘thank you, Ryou-chan.”

“Anytime, Akira.  It’s my pleasure.”

 

It takes a little over an hour for them to drive to the outskirts of Kyoto.  Akira doses off for a good chunk of it, which seemed impossible with Ryou’s preference for loud, pulsating dubstep songs.

“We’re here,” Ryou announces, shaking Akira awake.

Akira looks outside the window.  Everywhere he looks, he sees greenery.

“Ryou-chan.  Where exactly are we?”

“Welcome to Nanjenzi Temple.  I figured you’d enjoy a stroll through a temple surrounded by nature more than a tour of the downtown.  Don’t worry, we’ll go to the downtown area for lunch in a couple hours.”

Akira take his phone out to snap a quick picture.  “It’s so beautiful here!  Here, come stand next to me, Ryou-chan.”

Ryou grumbles about the absurd nature of social media but he complies nevertheless.  Their cheeks are touching as Akira presses the shutter icon.

It doesn’t take too long for them to tour the entire temple.  The leaves of the trees are each dyed in different shades despite it only being summer.

“It’s cool how this basically started out as a summer house for some emperor back in the day,” Ryou notes.  “It was later converted to a temple for the people.”

“It’s not exactly a bad thing, is it?  Thank to his selfish whims those of us living in the present day get to take a day off and bask in the beauty of this temple and the nature around it.”

The corner of Ryou’s lips twitch up.  “You always have nice, innocent things to say.”

Akira opens his mouth to retort but a loud growl from his stomach interrupts him.

“Let’s go eat before your monstrous appetite turns you into a demon or something,” Ryou teases.  “My treat, of course.”

Akira blushes.  “Ramen is fine.”

“It’s fine, Akira.  Look at my car.  I can afford more than a measly tonkotsu ramen.”

In the end, they go to an okonomiyaki place called Nishiki Warai.  They get a few of the server’s recommendations.  Ryou doesn’t eat a lot of it, preferring to watch Akira eat his fill instead.

Ryou insists on having dessert as well, resulting in them driving over to Lugol.  If Ryou hadn’t brought him there, Akira never would have noticed that it was a café.

“You look like you’re expecting the coffee mug to bite you,” Ryou observes.

“No, no, it’s uhm . . . I’ve never been to a place like this.”

“Avant-garde is the word you’re looking for,” Ryou remarks with a sip of his espresso.

“How do you know about this, Ryou-chan?”

“Internet has the answer to _everything_ ,” Ryou answers.  Something tells Akira to keep further questions to himself.

Ryou keeps ordering cakes and cookies, munching on the sweets as he listens to Akira talk about his high school life.  There are so many things Akira wants to ask Ryou about his life in America but if memory serves, Ryou takes a while to thaw.  He’ll tell Akira whenever he is ready.

Somehow, time passes them by without Akira noticing.  It’s already nearing dinnertime when they finish wandering the streets of downtown Kyoto, a few boxes of sweets from the café tucked under Akira’s arms.

“Wanna do dinner here as well?” Ryou asks.

“Ryou-chan!  You already spent so much money today.  You don’t have to—”

The rest of Akira protests gets muffled when Ryou shoves a doughnut in his mouth.

“I took you out here so it’s only fair that I treat you as much as I want.”

Thankfully, Ryou-chan doesn’t pick an outlandishly priced restaurant for dinner.  It’s a well-decorated sushi place and Akira is happy with the array of food there.

The skies are already dark by the time the two of them arrive in front of Akira’s house.  Ryou opens up the car door for Akira and walks him to the door.

“Today was really fun,’ Akira admits.  “Thanks, Ryou-chan.”

“It was my pleasure.  We should do this again some time soon.”

Right before Ryou goes back to his car, he grabs the front of Akira’s shirt and pulls him in until their lips touch.  Akira’s eyes stay wide open due to shock, bearing witness to Ryou’s smug grin as he pulls away.

“Next time, it will be a proper date, yeah?” Ryou calls out, climbing into his car.

“Y-yeah.  Okay,” Akira mutters.

The whole way up to his room, Akira’s lips won’t tingling.  And the faint tingle remains until he sees Ryou-chan again.

 


End file.
